| Review Your Credit Score.Nearly every bank, | | | | chance to buy your dream home.Avoid Credit |
| credit union, and mortgage lender relies on a three | | | | Applications.In the weeks leading up to your home |
| digit score provided by one of the three major | | | | purchase, you may consider switching banks or |
| credit bureaus to help them make lending | | | | responding to attractive credit card offers. Resist |
| decisions. A credit score can range from the | | | | the urge to earn those frequent flyer miles, |
| perfect 850 all the way down to the abysmal | | | | because a flurry of applications can show up on |
| 300. Scores under 720 may not qualify for the | | | | your credit report simultaneously. Therefore, |
| best interest rates, so you should check your | | | | lenders may grow concerned about potential |
| credit scores with all three bureaus before | | | | identity theft. Even worse, lenders might assume |
| shopping for a loan. You may discover you have | | | | you've lost control of your spending, making you |
| some cleaning up to do before you can take | | | | an unsuitable candidate for a home loan.Do All |
| advantage of a great loan deal.Scan Your Report | | | | Your Shopping on the Same Day.For the same |
| for Mistakes.Though some consumers struggle | | | | reasons, you should choose one day to make |
| with debt, many more would-be borrowers suffer | | | | inquiries from your favorite mortgage lenders. A |
| needlessly because of mistakes they made in the | | | | few weeks after your inquiries, your applications |
| past or mistakes that credit bureau systems | | | | will show up on your report and drag down your |
| made when compiling their reports. To avoid | | | | score by a few points. Because the bureau |
| embarrassment and wasted time during the loan | | | | assumes that every application may result in an |
| origination process, you should review your report | | | | approval, the amount of your potential debt load |
| carefully before you start shopping for loans. | | | | increases significantly. In addition, the market |
| Dispute any inaccuracies both with the credit | | | | changes so frequently that quotes made on |
| bureau and with the creditor using certified mail. If | | | | different days cannot be compared directly. Be |
| you find any long-lost bills you left unpaid, pay | | | | prepared to make your phone calls, run the |
| them. A bill as insignificant as $100 can actually | | | | numbers, and accept a locked pre-approval all on |
| stall or derail the closing process, costing you the | | | | the same day. |